A Primitive Curiosity

Friday, October 18, 2013

Seattle Fun

We headed to Seattle for the day on Monday for a quick trip. I went over to my friend Brian's to hang out and talk about bikes. Because he just injured his knee, and is in the middle of a move, I got to drive his '71 VW Westfalia, also known as Klaus to West Seattle to ferry some bikes to the new house.

First though we were going to meet up with Casey, a friend of Brian's that I had heard a lot about but hadn't met. Casey is passionate about bikes, is an excellent mechanic, and is the owner of a Rivendell Atlantis which I was very excited to see. We rolled up, put on a movie for his three year old son and headed out into the garage to see the bike.

The Atlantis was amazing. I loved the color, the lugs were much more intricate that I had expected and it had some really beautiful components like a Phil Wood front hub and Nitto bars and racks.

Casey was nice enough to let me take it for a spin and I couldn't believe how positively it handled and how natural it felt. The frame was a little small for me but I felt very at home instantly. The geometry is very similar to my Cross Check with the bottom bracket being a little lower and the chainstays longer but there was a noticeable difference in how the bike felt. Maybe it was the tubing, or the lugs, or the big tires on beautiful hubs but I was very impressed.

Turns out we spent too much time talking about bikes with Casey and didn't end up getting the bikes dropped off at the new house. Oh well, at least I helped him load them up, right?

It was a fun trip and the seed has been planted that for a Rivendell in my distant future.